Mobility Reigns as the Smart Connected Device Market Rises 29.1% in
2012 Driven By Tablet and Smartphone Growth, According to IDC

February 21, 2013 09:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

FRAMINGHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--When looking at a holistic view of smartphones, tablets, and PCs, one
thing is clear – smartphones and tablets are driving mobility growth.
According to the International Data Corporation (IDC)
Worldwide
Quarterly Smart Connected Device Tracker, vendors shipped 367.7
million desktop PCs, portable PCs, tablets, and smartphones – a
collective view IDC refers to as "Smart Connected Devices" – the fourth
quarter of 2012 (4Q12), up 28.3% from the prior year. As desktop PCs and
portable PCs declined (-4.1% and -3.4%, respectively), the overall smart
connected device space continued to surge to just over 1.2 billion
shipments cumulatively in 2012. Tablet shipments experienced the largest
year-over-year growth in 2012, up 78.4% over 2011, while smartphones
grew 46.1% but accounted for 60.1% of all smart connected devices
shipped throughout the year.

After finishing 2011 second to Apple in the smart connected device
market, Samsung arose to the number one position in 2012 with just over
20% share across the four device categories. Samsung shipped 250.0
million PCs, tablets, and smartphones in the past year, up 119.3% from
the previous year, driven largely in part by its surge in the smartphone
space. While Samsung managed to ship more smartphones and portable PCs
than Apple in 2012, Apple led all in tablet shipments, was eighth in
portable PC shipments, and fifth overall in desktop PC shipments.

"Smartphones and tablets are growing at a pace that PCs and tablets
can't realistically keep up with because of device prices and to some
extent disposability," explained Ryan
Reith, program manager, Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers at IDC.
"The average selling price (ASP) for a tablet declined 15.0% in 2012 to
$461, and we expect that trend to continue in 2013. However, smartphone
APSs are still lower at $408. We expect smartphones to continue to carry
a shorter life cycle than PCs for the years to come based on price, use
case, and overall device size."

Rounding out the top 5 smart connected device vendors in 2012 was Lenovo
at number 3 with 6.5% share. Lenovo's strong point is still in portable
PCs where it shipped just over 30 million units in 2012. However,
smartphones are a growing space for the Chinese vendor as shipments grew
from 3.7 million in 2011 to 23.7 million in 2012. In the fourth position
was HP with 4.8% share, however shipments of smart connected devices
were down 8.5% year over year primarily for the lack of smartphone and
tablet offerings. And in the fifth position was Dell with 3.2% share,
down 12.9% from 2011 as it also struggles with a lack of presence in the
smartphone and tablet markets.

"The fourth quarter market share numbers showed a fairly dramatic
resurgence for Apple," said Bob
O'Donnell, program vice president, Clients and Displays. "After
falling well behind Samsung early in 2012, Apple came roaring back in
final quarter of the year thanks to its latest hits – the iPhone 5 and
the iPad Mini – and reduced the market share gap to less than a single
percentage point. The question moving forward will be whether or not
Apple can maintain its hit parade against the juggernaut of Samsung."

In addition to the table above, a graphic illustrating IDC's smart
connected devices forecast for 2011-2016 is available at IDC.com. The
chart is intended for public use in online news articles and social
media. Instructions on how to embed this graphic can be found by viewing this
press release on IDC.com.

About IDC Trackers

IDC
Tracker products provide accurate and timely market size, vendor
share, and forecasts for hundreds of technology markets from more than
100 countries around the globe. Using proprietary tools and research
processes, IDC's Trackers are updated on a semiannual, quarterly, and
monthly basis. Tracker results are delivered to clients in user-friendly
excel deliverables and on-line query tools. The IDC Tracker Charts app,
available at iTunes, allows users to view data charts from the most
recent IDC Tracker products on their iPhone and iPad.

About IDC

International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of
market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information
technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. IDC
helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment
community to make fact-based decisions on technology purchases and
business strategy. More than 1,000 IDC analysts provide global,
regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities
and trends in over 110 countries. For more than 48 years, IDC has
provided strategic insights to help our clients achieve their key
business objectives. IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world's leading
technology media, research, and events company. You can learn more about
IDC by visiting www.idc.com.

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